Massa confirms Williams competitive

Felipe Massa has confirmed the paddock perception that Williams looks set to be 'best of the rest' behind F1's top three teams early in 2017.

Many observers believe that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are clearly leading the field, with a gap then to the well-known British team Williams.

Brazilian driver Massa confirms: "I think testing for us was good.

"In fact after 2016 and how it went for Williams, I had a big concern about how it will be in 2017 especially with the big change in regulations," he told Globo.

"So I was not 100 per cent calm, especially because I decided last September that I would stop racing and so I was not very interested about how the car would be this year.

"I think Barcelona helped me to get an idea that we definitely have a competitive car," said Massa. "We are not the best team, but we can fight to be the third best team in the championship and fight for podiums."